The Strongest of Bonds
by Opinionated Asmodeus
Summary: After having achieved his dreams of becoming Pirate King, Luffy can't help but feel like things are incomplete. When he and his Nakama are given the chance to reforge their bonds and strengthen them, they find out that things will be much harder for them. Everything comes at a cost, however, and they must relinquish every memory they have if they wish to move forward.
1. Shattered and Broken

**Note:** This story was inspired by Fifth-Of-Fourth's It's Time For A Change! It is a very interesting fic, and a great read, so I recommend it! I am also working on chapters for Trial by Error, which chapter 5 is going to be ready in a few hours at the earliest.

**Summary:** After having achieved his dreams of becoming Pirate King, Luffy can't help but feel like things are incomplete. When he and his Nakama are given the chance to reforge their bonds and strengthen them, they find out that things will be much harder for them. Everything comes at a cost, however, and they must relinquish every memory they have if they wish to move forward.

**01:** Shattered and Broken

He had always been so strong in front of them. An unyielding force of nature that stopped at nothing to ensure the safety of his Nakama. He stopped at nothing to ensure all of their dreams and promises came true. They stopped at nothing so he could even achieve his.

Their beloved Captain wasn't happy though. An intuitive part in each of them knew he was miserable, even with the bright smiles he gave. The smiles were empty, much like the void look he gained in his eyes when he thought nobody was looking at him.

They came together, for his sake. It was their turn to be the defiantly strong ones in his stead. For ten years they watched him silently suffer. For ten years he was broken and shattered. It was time that they fixed him.

* * *

"Are you sure it exists, Robin?" Nami asked as she went over her map of Raftel one last time. They had been researching this, all eight of them, for the past nine years. Their beloved archaeologist had been the one to unearth tidbits of a legendary chamber on Raftel, one that was said to grant a singular wish or so the myth went.

"I am certain it exists, Nami." Robin gave the navigator a tired smile and laid out the journal she had kept on this chamber. She had been up all of the past night amending all of her notes and making sure that they were one hundred percent accurate. The delightful chef of their ship had even kept her company, much to a swarthy swordsman's complaints, and kept her focused with generous helpings of snacks and beverages that helped boost energy levels. Zoro had ended up dragging a half-conscious Sanji back to their bunk after she alerted him of the Chet's own exhaustion.

"Go rest up while I set the course." Nami scooped up her map and Robin's journal so she could study them both. She got up from the table as Robin left, and went in search of Franky and Usopp. Once she relayed their new heading to the shipwright and sniper she went to the Sunny's figurehead. Luffy was there, as expected, his captain's jacket draped over his shoulders. "Luffy."

His body tensed slightly at the sound of her voice and there was a slight hesitation before he turned to smile at her. It tore at her heart every time she saw that smile, the cheerful and vibrant life gone from it. "Ah, Nami. Where are we going?"

Luffy's perceptiveness startled her and she blinked at her captain before she gave him a small smile. Nami wasn't sure on what she could tell her simple-minded captain about Robin's discovery on Raftel. There were times when it seemed Luffy was smarter than he let on, and they all saw it but never pressed the issue. She said nothing on it now, and instead sat down beside her captain. "We're going back to Raftel. Robin found something about a secret treasure." That was the best she could tell him, though it was only a half truth.

"Treasure?" Luffy gave her a glance filled with suspicion since he knew Nami had scoured every inch of Raftel and counted every single Beli on the island. For her to miss a treasure was essentially a crime.

Nami seemed to realize this as soon as she said it and laughed nervously. "It's very well hidden, Luffy, in a mystery room," she explained quickly, and even threw in that it was in a mystery room. She knew how her captain worked, too well, and he often called things a mystery even when it was fully explained to him.

His suspicious look vanished and understanding seemed to dawn on his face. "A mystery treasure in a mystery room?" Luffy was getting excited, which was a good thing in her book. Hopefully Robin's find would pan out, because she couldn't stand seeing her captain so void of life.


	2. A Heartfelt Wish

**02:** A Heartfelt Wish

They made it to Raftel without incident, and in the few weeks it took them to reach the final island of the Grand Line Luffy seemed to hold an interest in the mystery treasure in the mystery room. There was a small spark of life back in their captain's eyes, and it made them happy to see that all was not lost. They would still go through with this one last endeavor for him, to see that spark return to a flame.

Before they disembarked from the Sunny Robin pulled everyone aside in the Aquarium Bar, save for Luffy, so she could explain what the consequences and costs for what they wanted to do were. For this thing to work they would have to sacrifice all of their memories of each other.

"I don't care what it costs me. I would give anything to see that Luffy is truly happy again. He's done so much for me, and he has always believed in me, in all of us, even when we didn't believe in ourselves." It was Zoro who spoke up, much to everyone's surprise, but they all agreed with them. Luffy had always been their driving force, even through his own suffering. He had seen in them a potential beyond what everyone else saw, and he brought that potential out in each of them.

"I agree with Marimo. Luffy has given us something that can never be taken from us, shitty consequences and prices be damned. Now let's go find this damn room." There was no need for this discussion of consequences and what it would cost them. They all knew in their hearts at the start of their research nine years ago that it would cost them all something important. It was a one shot deal, though.

"Straight to the point, Sanji-kun. Okay, Nami and I have deduced that the chamber lies beneath where One Piece is kept." Robin held up the map Nami had drawn up for her based on all of the information she had given the navigator and pointed out the location of the secret entrance. "To access the entrance we need to hike around to the northeastern side of the mountain. The path is easily missable with no visual markers."

"And the entrance is sealed. The switch to open it is reported to be in One Piece's chamber. Robin can make a clone to activate the switch." Nami handed each of them, save for Zoro, a copy of the map. The swordsman didn't say anything on it and just moved closer to Sanji to take a look at the cook's map. "Now, let's go make us a happy captain."

* * *

It took several hours of hiking, and Zoro occasionally disappearing (even under Sanji's watchful eyes), to reach the entrance to the hidden chamber. It was open, thanks to the Hana Hana no Mi clone Robin had sent to search for the switch to open the chamber, so they entered. Everyone looked around in awe, save for Luffy, at the circular room made of floor to ceiling mirrors. Their captain was oddly silent, a calm expression on his face.

_"Welcome back, Pirate King."_

Luffy watched as his Nakama looked around in surprise, though Robin was the first to smile at him knowingly. It was no surprise to her that he had managed to come across this before. He had known about this place all along, knew what it did, and had never breathed a word about it to them. He could have used it for himself if he had wanted, but he didn't, for whatever reason.

"Luffy. You already knew about this?" Nami was probably the most surprised out of his Nakama, being that she had charted Raftel all those years ago and hadn't found this chamber then.

"Hai~, Nami." Luffy approached the mirrors directly across from the chamber's entrance and touched the smooth surface. His reflection wavered and started to shift, something that hadn't been mentioned anywhere in the research.

_"Welcome, Mugiwara Pirates."_ Luffy's reflection took on a new form, that of a young boy who looked much like their captain, only smaller. He was smiling serenely as Luffy stepped back and joined his crew mates. _"I have been waiting for you to come see me for a very long time."_

Okay, now they were so very confused. Their captain had already known of this, and his reflection had grown younger and was talking to them. They had seen many a strange things, but this one was starting to take the cake. Each of them had their guard up now, save for Luffy who was looking at them expectantly.

Robin was the first of his Nakama to step forward, with the hope that all of her research hadn't been for naught. She knelt down in front of the child-Luffy reflection and smiled at it like she would her captain. "You have been watching over us, through our captain, have you not?" The apparition in the mirror nodded. "Could you explain why?"

The child-Luffy apparition frowned and glanced over to the Pirate King. _"There have been very few who are worthy of coming here, even fewer who are worthy of being granted a singular wish. He did not want to use it, just like the one before him."_

"Gol D. Roger?" Nami questioned softly, and received another nod from the apparition. It was understandable why someone wouldn't want to use the wish. Still... They couldn't stand to see Luffy suffer anymore. "Our memories are very precious to us..."

"We're Nakama though, and Nakama are forever, regardless of what we have to give up." It was Usopp who spoke, a determined look on his face. "We all have had our share of pain in our lives, but we can't watch you continue on like this! That's why..." The Sniper King trailed off as his voice cracked slightly.

"We all want for you to be happy again." Franky came up behind Luffy and nudged the twenty-nine year old with an elbow.

"Guys..." He felt so guilty, worrying his Nakama like this. Luffy didn't mean for them to worry over him, but they were so very perceptive. He wanted them to be happy too, more than anything. Nine years ago, he would have gone through with making his own wish, but the idea didn't sit well with him for the fact that he wouldn't be giving them a choice in the matter. Now they all practically ganged up on him, and a glance at the knowing look on the child-Luffy's face gave him his answer. "Thank you, everyone." He wished that they too could be happy, even if it meant to never see them or remember them again.

There was a flash of blinding light in the room, and when it vanished the room was empty, save for the apparition in the mirror. As his form changed to that of Roger, the brim of his straw hat covering his eyes, he grinned to himself. _"You make the impossible possible, Monkey D. Luffy. You just may change the course of everything there is."_


	3. Eternal Sonata - Sad Beginnings

**Notes:** On YouTube there is a wonderful English version of Bink's Sake, done by hyperionthundermain, that I recommend listening to. I like his lyrical translation the best, and though I won't be putting his translation into this chapter, it is the one that the Rumbar Pirates sing in my mind.

**03:** Eternal Sonata - Sad Beginnings

He ran headlong in the seemingly unending darkness, chasing after a grinning figure in the distance. Brook had only ever gotten glimpses of this person, their features somehow familiar though he would swear to having never met the person before. He was a teenager, probably seventeen, maybe seventeen and a half, with short and wild black hair and a small scar under his left eye. The most memorable thing about him wasn't the red vest and blue shorts he wore, but the old straw hat he wore.

As soon as he caught up to the boy and reached out to touch him he was startled by a very disturbing change. Instead of flesh, his hand was nothing but bone. Brook woke up with a frightened gasp and tumbled out of his bed. He checked his hands several times, and even pinched himself to make sure that he was awake. It had been quite a scare to see his own limb suddenly turn into just bones.

After he was assured that he wouldn't be turning into a skeleton, even in part, Brook got up and tried to remember the dream before his fright. He had been running and there had been someone... As he tried to picture the person the details of the dream faded, leaving him scowling. It was best that he didn't dwell on it, and so he dressed for the day and left his cabin.

Yorki was leaning against the railing on the upper deck, watching the fickle weather of the Grand Line when he came out. His captain was smiling and humming their favorite song, Bink's Sake, to himself. With a grin of his own, Brook pulled out his violin and started to play the more upbeat version they were used to singing.

"_Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._" Yorki grinned and sang along as he turned to watch Brook play. Little Laboon, the island whale that had followed them into the Grand Line, had loved this song and would always chirp and dance in the water when it was played. Though they had been saddened to leave Laboon behind with Crocus, they were firm in their belief that they would one day see him again.

"_Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._"

* * *

Weeks had passed since Brook had had that strange dream he could no longer remember. Captain Yorki and a few other crew members had contracted a disease that had been deemed incurable, and so they had left to contain it. Now he was the Captain of the Rumbar Pirates, though he had never wanted to obtain Captaincy in such a way, and they were pushing on to keep their promise to reunite with Laboon.

Brook stared at his wanted poster, a thin smile on his face as he folded the paper up. The thick fog of the Florian Triangle made things difficult to see, but he was quite sure the crew would want to celebrate him gaining a bounty. It was dangerous here, more so than usual, as the fog hid many things. Even if all of them should die, he would at least be able to carry on to one day keep their promise with Laboon. He had eaten the Yomi Yomi no Mi, after all.

He was startled out of his thoughts when a cannon, one that was not their own, went off. The ball hit the water off of their port side stern, and every available hand was quick in getting to their stations. Brook let go of his wanted post and grabbed his shikomizue, the hidden sword leaning up against the wall of his cabin by the doorway.

* * *

The battle had been long and bloody, but they had won, and only barely. The attacking pirates had poisoned their weapons, and so they only had a short while left to live, as their only doctor had died in the battle. Despite this, they were all happy. Brook would eventually revive and could make his way back to Laboon for them. It was decided that they would go out in a fantastic bang, playing Bink's Sake and recording it for Laboon to hear on a Tone Dial.

Brook sat at the piano and played as, one by one, his comrades died. He continued to play until all that was left was him and the song came to an end. The poison took his body then, and he was enveloped in darkness.

When he came back to consciousness he was floating, not like a bird but the sensation was as close to flying as he could imagine. He was aware that he had to get back to his body, wherever it had gone off to, and so he started to search for it.

Brook wasn't aware of the passage of time, but by the time he did find his body he was horrified to see that it was nothing but bones and clothes. The only good thing was that his afro had remained, and he silently cracked a joke about having very deep roots in his mind. He assumed control over his skeletal body, and gingerly picked up the tone dial that still sat upon the piano. The revived pirate pressed play and a melody slowly began.

"_Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho..._" He wanted to cry, but as he was lacking in tear ducts he settled for sadly humming along to the song recorded in the Dial. Laboon was, no doubt, still waiting for him, and he would have to wait even longer still. Brook was incapable of handling a ship so large by himself, and he had to gather the remains of his crew.

One day he would be able to keep the promise the Rumbar Pirates had made with Laboon. Until then he would wait, for what he didn't know. He had a sense that his life would be boring for a long time, but someone would come and shake things up for him. Someone young, and full of life. He didn't know how he knew it-it was just a feeling after all-but it would be well worth the wait.


	4. Do It With A DON!

**Notes:** This is where we truly start to see a change in the events of the lives of the Mugiwara Kaizoku. Brooks's was unavoidable, and necessary, unfortunately.

**04: **Do It With A DON!

Pride filled him as he dragged a cloth soaked with special oils across the steering wheel of his dream ship. She was a beauty, and strong like the lion figurehead decorating her bow. She would take him places, he and the rowdy crew he had been convinced into joining. A glance up to her figurehead gave him a glimpse of short, wild black hair peeking between the blade-like pieces of her mane. A contented and grateful smile stole across his face as he finished polishing the wheel.

He absently tucked the cloth into a pocket in his floral shirt and walked over to the figurehead. He waved to the skeletal gentleman playing a violin as he passed by him, never once thinking him odd or out of place. As he came closer to the figurehead he found it harder to move, his body becoming sluggish and heavy. He could just make out the back of the Captain's head. He didn't know how he knew it, but that was the Captain of his dream ship sitting out there on the figurehead. He opened his mouth to call out to his Captain, whose name slipped his mind, when something smacked him in the head.

Cutty Flam jerked awake and bolted upright, his head colliding with Iceburg's. "Oww... Damnit, Ice! What are you doing?!" He held his forehead while Iceburg clutched at his nose, blood seeping from between his fingers.

Iceburg said something quite unintelligible, and at his fellow shipwright's flat look he repeated it again. Then once more. He resorted to pointing at the doorway, where their mentor, Tom, stood. The merman chuckled at the sight of them and motioned for them to follow him.

Cutty felt a little guilty over Iceburg's nose and fished a clean handkerchief out of his pocket. He held it out to his friend and got up once Iceburg accepted the cloth and moved. "Sorry, man. I didn't expect you to be standing over me." Which had him questioning why Iceburg had been standing over him to start with. To wake him up, apparently. He got up and followed his friend out into the hall, where their merman mentor waited for them.

They walked the sort distance to Tom's office and when Tom pulled down the cork board where they had blueprints pinned up, both the teens' eyes bugged out. There was a panel in the wall, their sharp eyes able to pick the less than noticeable seams out from the rest of the wall. Tom slid it open to reveal a safe. "I've been safeguarding this ever since my mentor passed it on to me. It is no longer safe for me to keep these blueprints, so I am passing them on to you." Tom opened the safe and pulled out a thin roll of paper.

Cutty and Iceburg stepped closer to examine the paper as it was unrolled. To their disbelief, they were looking at the blueprints of something called Pluton. A weapon. They immediately knew that if anyone from the World Government were to get their hands on just these blueprints alone... It would be terrible for the entire world. They looked at each other, then at the blueprints before they agreed to safeguard this momentous secret.

* * *

Cutty Flam, or Franky as Iceburg liked to call him, inspected his small platoon of Battle Franky ships. Iceburg had said that he should dismantle all of the old ones, so nobody else could get their hands on them and use them maliciously. Ever since that Spandam guy came snooping around for the blueprints to the Pluton, he had been getting a very bad feeling. Tom's pardoning was coming up soon, and he certainly didn't want anything to go wrong.

He couldn't name why he was feeling this way, but Cutty Flam dismantled all of his Battle Frankys. It was a long job, and he worked all throughout the night to get it done. When morning came, he was passed out by the pieces of the last ship, which was how Iceburg found him. Yokozuna, who had come to help him in the middle of the night, was asleep by the neatly stacked lumber that had made up the ships.

Iceburg stared in wonder at the scrap yard, then at his friend and smiled. Cutty had taken his warning to heart, and had dismantled his creations. Even though it hadn't been something his friend had wanted to do, it took a lot of pride swallowing to do it. Going over to the sleeping shipwright in the making, he nudged Cutty with his foot. "C'mon Franky! Time to go watch Tom get his pardon."

There was an incoherent grumble and Cutty rolled over, eyes half open. "Okay, Ice, I'm up!" He got up with a groan and rubbed at his face. Dismantling his beloved Sea King Hunting ships had taken the better part of the night, so he was extremely tired. Yokozuna, despite having come to help him with his project, was up and alert. Cutty looked around the scrap yard and sighed. The only one he hadn't dismantled was the latest one that had actually worked. That one was hidden away.

Iceburg called for him again, then ran ahead to where Kokoro was waiting for them. Cutty and Yokozuna followed, and when they all finally reached where Tom and the Judiciaries were, they were all smiling happily.

"Because you have built the Sea Train, and saved Water 7, we hereby pardon you for any one crime of-" The sound of a cannon firing drowned out the rest of what the Judiciary was going to say, and the concrete between Tom and the Judge blew up.

A tremor of horror went through the crowd as people dove for cover, while the present Marines rallied together and spotted a small ship in the distant water. Nobody could recognize the ship, and another cannon fired. Cutty unfortunately caught the brunt of the attack.

* * *

It was dark, at first, and when he could finally open his eyes, it was to the worried faces of Iceburg, Kokoro and Yokozuna. He tried to sit up, but found he couldn't move.

"Don't sit up, Franky... You're still healing from the operation..." Iceburg stated in a soft voice.

Operation? He was SUPER! He was more worried about Tom and what had happened at their mentor's pardoning.

"They let Tom go. A full pardon. He saved their lives and helped take out the attacker." Iceburg smiled faintly, then his face grew worried. "He got injured really bad though, Franky."

* * *

It turned out that there wasn't anybody they could blame for the attack on Water 7. Whoever had been on the ship had gotten away, though it wasn't unscathed. Tom had been severely injured in the attempt to stop the culprit, and had lost an arm. The old shipwright refused to have a cybertronic arm grafted on, and instead used everything he had to save his life.

With a new lease on life, and at Iceburg's urgings, he took on the nickname Franky. Guilt tore at him, because if he hadn't got caught up in the cannon fire, Tom would have been able to spend the money on himself for a cybertronic arm. Franky decided it was best that he went his own separate way, at least for a while. Tom didn't blame him, and he knew that. He just needed some time to himself.


	5. Unexpected Side Effects Part 1

**05: **_Unexpected Side Effects Part 1_

Gol D. Roger had a weighty decision to make. The flow of time had been altered, not because he had been granted foreknowledge of what was to come, but because his successor had made a wish. To be more precise, the entire crew's wish had been granted. They would remember nothing of their _previous_ life, and he probably shouldn't have either, but for some reason or another he had been granted knowledge of everything that was to come following his death, as well as what happened in each of their lives.

Roger didn't know who to turn to, but he had to do something. Even though he was to die in a manner of his own choosing, knowing that Rouge, his own son and even old Newgate were going to die... It was creating a mess of conflict in his heart. The Pirate King wasn't going to idly sit by when he could help to further change how things would go.

Roger was also aware that he couldn't play favorites, not when his successor and his crew needed help as well. First, he needed to find a lot of paper and ink. Then he needed to set up a meeting with old Newgate and get things set up for when he gave himself up.

* * *

Portgas D. Rouge held the letter from her lover in trembling hands, tears in her eyes as she read it over. She was going to be hunted, that much she understood, and Roger's letter was as confusing as it was chillingly accurate. That he knew she would stay on Baterilla and hide her pregnancy for as long as possible once he gave himself up... She wasn't sure how to react to that.

The letter in her hands crumpled as she tried to make sense of the request that Roger was making of her. He wanted her to leave Baterilla and South Blue, before he turned himself in to the Marines. He had already contacted someone to come and pick her up, and they were due to arrive soon. There was no telling how soon soon was, and there wasn't even a hint as to where she would be going.

A knock on her door made her jump, and after she collected herself Rouge tucked away the letter and went to answer the door. She quickly wiped her face clean of tears and opened the door. To her surprise, shock and astonishment Monkey D. Garp was standing there. Nervousness was quick to take over and she smiled weakly at the Marine Vice Admiral. "How may I help you, Kaigun-san?"

"No need to be so formal, Portgas-san. I am here as a favor to our mutual acquaintance to escort you to East Blue." He smiled cordially, and she felt oddly at ease with Garp despite having just met him. That Roger had supposedly even asked a Marine to help her was... Incomprehensible. Then Garp did something that made it easier to trust him completely. He held up a pink hibiscus, like the one she wore tucked into her hair, and offered it to her.

"He really did send you," she whispered as she took the flower, and the reality of everything set in. Rouge felt more tears coming on and she stubbornly wiped at them as she bade Garp to enter.

* * *

Dragon couldn't believe his eyes. The Pirate King had written him a letter. It wasn't just a letter though, but information vital to a cause that he was working on building for a revolutionary movement. There were things he needed to prepare for and he would need to get support right away, especially with what was supposed to come in two years time.

Most would probably call him a fool for believing that anyone, let alone the Pirate King himself, knew what would happen in the future. Dragon was a D., just like Roger, and his gut was telling him to follow the careful instructions in the letter. This coming attack on Ohara, where a Poneglyph was being studied, needed to be averted. How, though...

* * *

Edward Newgate, also known on the seas as Whitebeard, was contemplating on the letter that Roger had sent to him. It was several pages long, and what information was held within those pages was unsettling. There was talk of betrayal amongst his crew, years and years from now mind you, and he could hardly believe it to be true. Roger wasn't known for lying, though, and what's more was the information of Roger's son becoming one of his own. At least, he had done so in a previous life, but this time would be different?

Out of all the times he and Roger had clashed and then ended up drinking together like the best of friends, there had never been a breath of this kind of talk. Edward read through the letter again and scowled. It seemed like this foreknowledge of Roger's was only recent, ever since he had visited a special place on Raftel. The Yonkou didn't know what the Pirate King was speaking of, but he wasn't going to question the validity of the information. He was definitely going to interrogate the man when he came for this visit he had mentioned.


	6. Flowering Demons

**06:** _Flowering Demons_

She couldn't have been happier, and it was all because of her _Nakama_. It was all because of _him_. She spied glimpses of him on the figurehead, raven black hair a wild mess and a smile so warm and full of life... Robin picked up her cup of coffee with a disembodied hand and sipped at it while she flipped the page in her book and continued reading. From her peripheral she could see their blue-haired shipwright walking over to the figurehead from the helm of the ship. He passed by the tall skeleton playing _Bink's Sake_ on the violin and waved to on his way to the figurehead.

Robin idly hummed along as she took another sip of her coffee. It was days like these that filled her with such joy. She glanced over to the figurehead again and blinked. There was someone else sitting up there with their Captain. She could make out equally wild black hair of the slightly taller figure. She stood up to go down to the main deck when her world shifted.

Robin woke up to the unpleasantness of being dragged out of what constituted as her bed, her cruel aunt Roji gripping her ankle in an iron-clad hold. Uncle Oran was pleading with Roji to reconsider something, but the woman wasn't hearing it. Robin had no idea as to what was going on, but it wasn't going to end pleasantly for her.

Roji dropped her ankle when they reached the kitchen, and yanked her up by her arm. It hurt, but Robin kept from crying out, as that would only make things worse for her. "Look here, you ungrateful brat! Where is the jam and bread that was here last night?"

"I... I don't know. I didn't touch it." Robin looked up at her aunt Roji, her voice quavering with her fear at what the woman would do. The grip on her arm tightened painfully and she whimpered as Roji leaned down to stick her face into her's.

"I know you ate it all, you ungrateful little wretch!" Roji let go of her arm and drew back her arm to strike Robin with an open palm.

"I didn't!" Robin tried to brace herself for the blow, but it never came. When she looked up, her uncle Oran had Roji's wrist in his hand. He looked upset, which wasn't usual for him.

"Why don't you get cleaned up, have something to eat and then go play outside?" Robin blinked at her uncle, who smiled kindly at her before fixing a stern look on his face as he turned to Roji.

Robin didn't have to be told twice. She ran upstairs and washed up, all while wondering why her uncle had finally decided to intervene like he had just now. On her way back down she took the stairs slowly. There was a pleasant scent in the air: eggs, bacon and toast! Robin reached the bottom of the steps and found a plate on the table, and that Oran was at the stove cooking. Aunt Roji was nowhere to be found.

"Food is almost ready, Robin." Oran plated the eggs and bacon, followed by the toast. Next he poured juice and milk into some cups and laid everything out on the table. "Go ahead and sit down, Robin." There was something different about her uncle. He hadn't been so openly defensive over her, nor had he ever cooked her breakfast before.

Something big was going to happen today, and it felt like it wasn't going to be good. It wasn't going to be bad, either, so Robin wasn't sure how to feel about the situation. She ate her breakfast in silence as Oran watched her contemplatively. When she finished she started to get up, but her uncle was faster and cleared away her dirty dishes. He shooed her out of the house with an eeriely nice smile.

As she ran through the town to the hills by the coast where her secret friend, a giant named Jaguar D. Saul, was staying she tried not to think of her uneasy feelings. He had taught her to laugh, even when she was sad, and this was one of those times, thanks to her aunt, that she needed his company. Later, when she was cheered up, she would think more about uncle Oran's behavior.

* * *

She had been gone for only a few hours and the town was completely deserted. Uncle Oran and Aunt Roji were gone with her cousin Mizuira, clothes and items strewn about the home. It was obvious that they had rushed to leave, and the realization that they had purposefully left her behind hurt.

Robin ran out of the house and to the Tree of Knowledge, where Professor Clover and the archaeologist of Ohara were usually at. They too were gone, she discovered, and all of the books that had been stored in the Tree were also missing.

It was strange, and terrifying. Everyone had left and she was still there. Why hadn't she noticed anything odd, other than Oran's weird behavior this morning? With tears threatening to fall, she ran out of the Tree of Knowledge and into the legs of a woman.

Robin caught herself before she fell and took a few steps back to look up into the face of a surprised Nico Olvia. She stared into the woman's brown eyes, exactly like her own, and the terror she felt turned into wonderment. "Okaa-san?" Her voice was small, but the woman heard her regardless, and the girl was rewarded with a smile.

"Robin!" Olvia bent down and picked the eight year old up off of the ground, her wavy white hair cascading from her shoulders and forming a temporary curtain that framed her face. "What happened here?"

"Okaa-san... They... They left me!" Tears fell Robin wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. The woman held on to her and started to carry her away from the village.

"I'm here for you, sweetheart," Olvia whispered soothingly. She paused as she heard something or someone running up the path, then quickly ducked between two homes. She shifted Robin in her arms, the girl quieting as she too heard the noise, and watched as high ranking CP9 agents ran past. They hadn't noticed them, not yet at least, and it was very possible she could slip away with Robin. "Did they take all of the books from the Tree?"

Robin glanced up at her mother and nodded silently. She returned her gaze back to the path just as the current leader of the CP9, Spandine, strolled past, accompanied by the rest of his agents. The man was holding a small, Golden Den Den Mushi and was gesturing dramatically at it as he talked. She was tempted to use her Devil Fruit ability but another glance at her mother stopped her.

"We need to leave," Olvia whispered, and backed down the alley until they were safely around the back of the house to run. She continued to carry Robin to the hills the child had frequented the past few months, where Saul was currently at. They came upon the giant, who was staring at something in the distance out at sea. "Saul-san!"

"Ah!" The giant glanced down at them at the sound of his name and forced a smile. "Olvia-san... They brought a Buster Call. They intend to destro-" His sentence was cut off by the sound of cannons firing. Deafening explosions rang out across the island as the Buster Call Armada began its barrage from all around Ohara. The giant cursed and left the safety of the hills to go out into the ocean. "Get away from here, Olvia-san, Robin-san!"

They watched as he lifted one of the Battleships, larger than even him, and used it to destroy another of the Battleships. He continued on to another Battleship when the sea began turning to ice. The giant quickly returned to the beach as a tall and slender man appeared on the sand.

"Ararara... I did not expect you to go to such lengths, former Vice Admiral Saul-san." The man, who had a laid back air about him, glanced from the giant to Nico Olvia and Robin. "Aiding a known fugitive and criminal, whom you had set free."

"Run, Olvia-san!" Saul moved to attack the man they could now tell was a Marine, and a Vice Admiral at that. The Marine nimbly dodged the blow and went around him to go after Olvia and Robin. The giant halted his progress as mother and daughter fled, but at the cost of his own life.

Olvia, still carrying her daughter, ran down the beach, and spotted a boat in the distance. The ground beneath her feet turned to ice, however, and she slipped on the changed surface. She twisted her body so that Robin wouldn't be hurt by the fall, and waited for them to stop sliding on the ice before she got up and started running again.

The Vice Admiral easily caught up with them and formed an ice barrier in front of them, forcing Olvia to stop. He regarded the mother and daughter carefully as he approached, his expression quickly softening as he sighed. With a single motion if his hand the ice barrier vanished, leaving Olvia confused. When he walked past her and to the boat, she was shocked when he stuck his hand into the water and formed to thin lines of ice, one on each side of the boat out into the ocean. "This will carry you across to the closest island. Go, before anyone sees you."

Olvia hesitated, her uncertain gaze scrutinizing the Vice Admiral. Only when she heard the distant shouts and cries of Spandine and his men did she jolt into action. She ran over to the boat and set Robin inside of it. Olvia climbed in once Robin was safely settled in on the bench seat and she turned to look at the Vice Admiral once more.

"And remember this: I am not your ally... If either of you do anything, I'm the _enemy_ that will be the first to catch you." With that the Vice Admiral left them, his destination a ship that was coming around the curve along the beach. It was Spandine's ship.

Olvia, with Robin's help, started to row the boat between the ice tracks. They ignored Spandine's shouts when he spotted them, no doubt blaming them for his mess, as well as the disappearance of the island's inhabitants.


End file.
